A Lost Hope
by SSGirl
Summary: A lost photo stirs up old memories. PERCABETH. All human, AU, kinda OOC. Enjoy
1. Chapter 1

A Lost Hope

"Ouch," I cried in pain as I fell to the ground. Rubbing my leg, I looked up to see what I tripped over in my dusty attic. Well, my sister's dusty attic, really. Yes, I, Annabeth Chase, executive vice-president of ZXY architecture — one of the most popular architecture companies in New York, am living with my sister and her family. I could easily live in a large, expensive penthouse, but I'd be lonely, so I moved in with my sister, her husband, and two kids, and I love it.

I looked up to find the box said, "High school memories," in purple sharpie. I opened it and began to dig through it. I found my diploma, my graduation hat, my prom dress, and all four of my end of year report cards. Then I found a stack of photos, mostly of my friends and I. There were a few of graduation, and then I came across prom pictures. There were some of my friends and I getting ready — painting our nails, curling our hair, and fixing each other's makeup — then I came across _that_ photo. It was the picture of my prom date and I.

It was your average prom picture — caught by mom right before you head out the door, the guy in a tux, and the girl in a dress — but that picture meant the world to me. Percy was my best friend and Thalia, my other best friend, convinced us to start dating. The day after that picture was taken, he disappeared, and I haven't seen him since. We searched for weeks with no luck. Percy, Thalia, and I had been the unbreakable trio since we were kids; we refused to give up, even when our parents did.

Eventually, we found his car, but there were no signs of him. It was like he was erased off the face of the planet, like he never existed in the first place. You could say I was a mess for quite a while.

His car was really a beat-up, old pickup truck, which I was always surprised it never broke down when we drove it. When we found it, after searching through it, they wanted to take it to the dump. I wouldn't let them, it held too many memories. Thalia, eventually, gave up and after a lot of convincing, I did too. I slowly pushed it to the back of my mind. Right before I moved to New York, I sold the truck, got rid of my past to start my future, except for that photo.

After I got a job and found an apartment, I began to unpack. Soon, I realized I couldn't find the photo. I looked through all the boxes, or so I thought, and found nothing. Although with my new life, it was the last thing on my mind.

Awakened from my memories with tears running down my face, I looked at my watch. It said eleven fifteen. I decided since I got nothing done anyways I might as well go get some sleep for work tomorrow. I closed the box and shoved it aside but took the photo with me and stuck it in my drawer.

The next morning I went to get coffee at the coffee house down the street as always. Once I ordered my vanilla latte and sat down I noticed a familiar face, his face. I was going to go see if it was really him when the barista called my name. I ran to get my latte and turned as quick as I could, but he was gone.

At work, I was distracted. I wanted to do some research, but I had three projects, all due to the CEO tomorrow. I decided to skip lunch to do my research. I ended up with nothing. There wasn't even anything from before he disappeared. It was like he really never existed, but I knew I saw him in that coffee shop, it had to be him.

The next morning, instead of ordering my latte, I started scanning the coffee shop to find him. I spotted him and ran up to him. It was really him, except he was still seventeen. "It's you," I said in awe.

"Come on let's talk outside," he said taking me by the hand, leading me outside. Once we stopped I enveloped him in a hug. When I pulled back I broke out of my daze.

"I've missed you so much. We have to go see Thalia and your parents." I tried to drag him along, but he stopped me.

"We can't. You're the only one who can see me. I've been searching for years to come to say good-bye," he told me.

"Good-bye? I just found you. You can't go," I sobbed as tears streamed down my face.

"I have to. I've overstayed my welcome in this world," he explained. Then he placed his forehead on mine and whispered, "Good-bye," fading into the wind with a smile on his face.

**Hey guys, here's a one-shot. It was a short story for English class but I changed some names and turned it into a PJO one-shot. It is all human. Sorry if it seemed kinda OOC but there older in this story and no gods. Hoped you liked it REVIEW criticism is always welcomed.**


	2. IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE!

**Hey guys I got some reviews asking how Percy died, and if he died. HE DID DIE! In the story they never really found out how he died. They had a big search but the police never found anything. They found his truck but not him so you could assume he died in a crash. Percy was dead but had unfinished business in the mortal world so he was stuck as a spirit wandering Earth. Years passed and Annabeth eventually forgot about it. When she was going through the attic she found the photo from before he disappeared. This caused her to start thinking about it again. When he said good-bye to Annabeth he was finally at peace and wasn't stuck between mortality and death. I hope that cleared up some things. Sorry if it was confusing. Please review, criticism always welcome. THANKS, ENJOY!**


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